Embedded Files
Essential Questions for the Homegoing unit:
Essential Questions for the Homegoing unit:
- Who "owns" a story?
- What do we inherit from our cultural and historical background?
- How do we form our beliefs?
- How are our beliefs related to inheritance?
About the author of Homegoing, Yaa Gyasi (pronounced "Jesse"):
About the author of Homegoing, Yaa Gyasi (pronounced "Jesse"):
Yaa Gyasi (born 1989) is a Ghanaian-American novelist. Born in Mampong, Ghana, she is the daughter of Kwaku Gyasi, a professor of French at the University of Alabama in Huntsville, and Sophia, who is a nurse. Her family moved to the United States in 1991 when her father was completing his Ph.D. at Ohio State University. The family also lived in Illinois and Tennessee, and from the age of 10, Gyasi was raised in Huntsville, Alabama.
Her debut novel Homegoing was inspired by a 2009 trip to Ghana, Gyasi's first since leaving the country as an infant. The novel was completed in 2015, and after initial readings from publishers, was met with numerous offers before she accepted a seven-figure advance from Knopf. Ta-Nehisi Coates selected Homegoing for the National Book Foundation's 2016 "5 under 35" award, and the novel also was selected for the National Book Critics Circle's John Leonard Award, the PEN/Hemingway award for best first book, and the American Book Award for contributions to diversity in American literature.
Title Pre-Reading: Homegoing vs. Going Home
Title Pre-Reading: Homegoing vs. Going Home
The title Homegoing - taken from an old African-American belief that death allowed an enslaved person's spirit to travel back to Africa - is rooted, like the Bible, in original sin. Unlike the Biblical transgression, however, the source of the curse that dogs an Asante woman's descendants through seven generations defies pinpointing and straightforward assessments of blame; you might as well shun your own hand. The wrongs done emerge from the muddled ethics typical of domestic quarrels, but their repercussions are vast. As one prophetic character puts it, "Sometimes you can not see that the evil in the world began as the evil in your home." - Laura Miller, The New Yorker
Watch this 5-minute video on the "Cape Coast Castle":
The audiobook is available in the Homegoing section of Google Classroom
The audiobook is available in the Homegoing section of Google Classroom
Chapter-by-Chapter Discussion:
Chapter-by-Chapter Discussion:
"Underground Railroad" Routes
"Underground Railroad" Routes
Before reading the "H" chapter, read this bit on "convict leasing."
Before reading the "H" chapter, read this bit on "convict leasing."
Watch these brief videos on what are commonly known as "The Great Migration" and "The Harlem Renaissance"
Watch these brief videos on what are commonly known as "The Great Migration" and "The Harlem Renaissance"
Click on this link below to see how this interactive map demonstrates the mass migration of African-Americans in the early-mid 20th Century.
Click on this link below to see how this interactive map demonstrates the mass migration of African-Americans in the early-mid 20th Century.
Use these videos below to draw connections between the "Willie" and "Sonny" chapters.
Use these videos below to draw connections between the "Willie" and "Sonny" chapters.
Joshua Abah, a student of TFA alum Clint Smith (D.C. '11), performs his poem entitled "Uncle Sam" at the 1st Annual Alumni Awards & Educators conference in Detroit, MI. Connect the internal conflicts he expresses here with those of the "Marjorie" chapter.
Joshua Abah, a student of TFA alum Clint Smith (D.C. '11), performs his poem entitled "Uncle Sam" at the 1st Annual Alumni Awards & Educators conference in Detroit, MI. Connect the internal conflicts he expresses here with those of the "Marjorie" chapter.
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